‘Twerk,’ Selfie,’ ‘Buzzworthy’ Lead Parade of Hip New Words in Oxford Dictionary

Here’s a scary thought: Miley Cyrus is having an effect on the English language.

Twerk, a sexually suggestive dance popularized by the likes of Cyrus, is one of several new words and phrases that has made it into the Oxford Dictionary. The dictionary defines twerk as to “dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.”

There are several other new buzzworthy entries, including, well, buzzworthy, which is defined as “likely to arouse the interest and attention of the public, either by media coverage or word of mouth.” 'Selfie' -- “a photograph that one has taken of oneself” -- also made the cut, as did ‘fauxhawk,’ ‘jorts,’ ‘pixie cut’ and ‘derp,’ which is defined as “speech regarded as meaningless or stupid.”

A good portion of the new entries are abbreviations that have caught on due to the shorthand people use while texting or sending email. Those phrases include ‘apols’ (apologies), ‘A/W’ (autumn/winter), ‘BYOD’ (bring your own device), ‘FIL’ (father-in-law), ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out), ‘grats,’ (congrats), ‘LDR’ (long-distance relationship), ‘srsly’ (seriously), ‘vom’ (to be sick; vomit).